Say So Long To Innocence
by GenocidexFlavouredxLipxGloss
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto are best friends despite being complete opposites and Naruto will do anything to protect Sasuke, even if that means ruining both of their futures. AU, eventual Sasunaru. Rating subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

Ok so this is a fanfiction I'm going to be writing, it's a slow moving story that will contain Yaoi in later chapters and dark themes along with possible character deaths. If you stick with reading the story it should prove to be satisfying.

I don't own the characters of Naruto, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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It was a cold day despite how closely summer lingered, the air possessed a chill reminiscent of the autumn season, the sky a dreary gray. Sasuke would like this day, Naruto knew that his friend didn't like the sunny warm weather that came about right as the school year was drawing to a close, but that wasn't the only thing Naruto knew about his inky haired compadre, in fact Naruto knew more about the ice prince than any of his avid followers and in turn the ice prince knew more about the blue eyed outcast than any of the people who were constantly starting horrific rumors about the blond, the two shared a relationship with one another that they found was impossible to form with anyone else around them and that never failed to bring a smile to the blond's sun kissed face.

Sapphire eyes focused on their path as the teenage boy walked down the pale concrete sidewalks riddled with missing chips and stains that looked eerily like blood that would lead him across town to his school. Naruto had always lived on the bad side of town and even with his shitty living conditions, an one roomed apartment with no hot water, he couldn't afford a car nor could he afford to take the bus every day on top of all of the bills he practically drowned in every month, living completely independently would be difficult for any high school student. He could only work for so long on the weekdays and so long on the weekends and if his grades showed signs of slipping any further, Naruto had a D average, he wouldn't be allowed to have a job at all until he picked them all back up to D's. However, before the blond made it any closer to his daily destination he deviated from the beeline route he usually took, arriving at the large black gate of Uchiha Estates about a minute later.

Naruto debated on ringing the doorbell as he bounced around outside the gated community eagerly but decided he would give Sasuke a little more time before he went wild with pushing buttons to wake up the entirety of the gated neighborhood. Five minutes of bouncing and the blue eyed ball of energy resorted to pushing the button labeled 'main estate' then there was more waiting for someone in the large main house to answer but as impatient as he was becoming he only counted to forty before he threw his backpack over the large gate and struggled up and over the structure himself, guess he would just go and wake the teme up in person, after all if he didn't the Uchiha's perfect attendance record would no doubt be in perilous jeopardy. Straightening out his clothes after a slightly painful, but still flawless, landing, a tan hand grabbed the orange and blue backpack and the teen hurried off to the main estate.

He had been to Sasuke's house once before when the two had met up at the park that was only a few blocks away from the Uchiha Estates to finish their walk to school together and it turned out Sasuke had left his history textbook back at his house and Naruto, being the good friend he was, tagged along on the way back to go get it, even if it was against the teme's will. One would probably assume that any friend would take it as an insult, Sasuke's vehement protests against allowing the other anywhere near his home, but Naruto understood the other's situation well enough that he didn't think twice before going against Sasuke's wishes and being the annoying dobe he was so well known for being. After all, the only reason he didn't want Naruto to know where he lived was because of what had happened with all of his other so called friends after they discovered he was completely and utterly loaded beyond belief, sometimes even the best of friends turn into monsters whenever money is involved. What Sasuke didn't know, or perhaps chose to pretend not to know, was that Naruto already knew he was rich. Now while he may be borderline failing in all of his classes that didn't mean Naruto was stupid enough not to realize something so obvious and by following Sasuke to his ritzy home and pretending it was new information he had hoped to show the other that money was the last thing on Naruto Uzumaki's mind when it came to his best friend.

A sun kissed hand knocked rapidly against the door, Naruto was already back to bouncing around like a five year old waiting for something they _really really_ want, and the blond blinked in surprise when the person who answered the door wasn't the ice prince he had been expecting but rather a man that looked like an older version of Sasuke who had hair that appeared to be even longer than Neji's. Naruto didn't know any of Sasuke's family but he knew for a fact that the man who answered the door was far too young to be Sasuke's father... Did that mean Sasuke had a brother? Oh well, Naruto was used to Sasuke keeping trivial secrets from him at this point.

"Sasuke home?" The bouncing had ceased, the red eyes set in the stone walling face was enough to stop his hyperactive behaviour and even cause him to feel slightly awkward. Naruto fiddled with the backpack strap on his shoulder as he shifted his weight from foot to foot ever so subtly, was this guy ever going to answer his question or was he just going to keep staring at him like that?!

The boy's appearance wasn't disappointing, unruly blond hair, skin tanned to a beautiful healthy gold, and bright blue eyes large like those of a child opened and eager to take in all of the sights the world has to offer, the only thing that was amiss was the bright orange shirt paired with otherwise suitable blue jeans, why in the world was someone so bright looking for his little brother? He certainly didn't seem like any of Sasuke's other friends or even someone the younger Uchiha would be able to be near without strangling. Itachi's crimson eyes blinked once and he reexamined the cheery looking blond stranger wondering if perhaps his initial examination was faulty due to severe retina damage caused by the horrendously orange shirt that hung loosely on the teen's torso, nope the boy looked just as loud and bright as before the only thing he noticed that he hadn't before was the whisker like markings on the blond's face and a certain depth to the azure eyes that made Itachi think to reevaluate how innocent the boy really was. Well seeing as this child was not one of his brothers fans, although in the beginning it was funny to let the rabid girls into the house and watch his younger sibling squirm they began to bug Itachi after a while and that earned them eternal banishment. Itachi. **hated**. fangirls.

"He's in the kitchen," The older Uchiha answered as he stepped aside, wordlessly offering the blond ball of energy to come into their home, an offer that Naruto took in an instant, he had never seen the inside of Sasuke's house before and even if he didn't care about how expensive everything was he was still curious as to how the other lived. Of course the first thing to attract his attention were the pictures sitting atop the fireplace mantle, cautiously the blond approached and looked at each picture as though it were a precious treasure. The first picture was of a family, Naruto recognized the younger Sasuke and figured the other boy in the picture was the older brother that had answered the door, in the picture was two adults who must have been Sasuke's parents.. _'He looks just like his mom.'_ Naruto thought with a snicker, Sasuke wasn't exactly androgynous but he possessed the sort of fragile beauty that one would expect from a very attractive woman, this of course had spurred many jokes on Naruto's part, occasionally treating Sasuke as though he were a girl just to watch his ridiculously annoyed response.

The front door shut and the blond set the picture frame back in it's place as the older Uchiha motioned for Naruto to follow him, Naruto of course did as he was wordlessly told and trailed after the effeminate man, _'They both look more like their mom..'_ The blond's thought trailed off as he contemplated his own gene pool, he had always been told he looked exactly like his father and from the few pictures he had seen Naruto had to agree. Upon arriving in the kitchen, which was attached to the dining room where they had found Sasuke, the blond's mind dropped the topic of parents and, seeing as Sasuke seemed to be engrossed at poking at the cereal in his bowl, wondered if it would be appropriate to jump his friend so early in the morning. His magnificent plan was ruined however when Itachi cleared his throat causing Sasuke to look up, the spoon still in his mouth from the first bite Naruto had seen him take from the meal, and when onyx eyes met bright blue the Uchiha actually choked.

Of course his Uchiha name kept him from throwing his spoon and coughing up a lung to force the cereal out of his airways but it wasn't enough to stop his eyes from widening ever so slightly and tears to begin pooling in the pitch black orbs. Sasuke eventually managed to swallow and casually wiped his eyes before standing up and stalking over to his brother and his best friend wondering which one to slaughter first, for all Itachi knew Naruto could have been a fangirl in disguise! Haha, isn't that just the pot calling the kettle black? However, Uchiha's do not lash out, their composure is supposed to remain at all times, even if they did feel like doing nothing more than choking someone to death.

Naruto knew Sasuke would be mad but he really didn't think he would be that mad, Sasuke seriously looked as though he were contemplating how long it would take to kill both Naruto and Itachi as well as how quickly the police would arrive after being called by one of the neighbors reporting blood curdling screams. The blond just smiled stupidly and Sasuke visibly relaxed upon seeing the dorky expression on the other's face, needless to say Itachi was absolutely positively shocked but being just as much of an Uchiha as Sasuke he didn't let his surprise show in the least but he was curious now, who exactly was this boy and why hadn't Sasuke said anything about him before?

Sure the two weren't the ideal brothers but it wasn't as though they were completely walled off from one another, while both enjoyed isolation that was only in moderation and both had agreed to the idea of confiding in one another even if Sasuke was very stubborn in the way he went about it. Whenever he had something he needed to talk about he would track down Itachi and casually lounge around until the older brother inquired as to what was wrong, Sasuke would always say 'nothing' but after a few minutes or Itachi repeating his question the younger would let go and then act as though Itachi were somehow forcing it out of him, it had been the same way ever since Sasuke was a little kid and while he had grown tremendously over the years the younger teen was still Itachi's outotou and both of them knew that would never change no matter how old either of them got, Sasuke was just too stubborn and Itachi had your typical older brother instinct.

"Hey, Teme! We're going to be running late if you take any longer, hurry up!"

"Dobe, no one is making you stay so I can take as long as I want."

As per usual Sasuke had the last word and while it sounded cold Naruto could feel the underlaying warmth that no one else at school would be able to experience, all of Sasuke's warmth belonged to Naruto, and maybe his older brother. Despite how little Sasuke seemed to care he grabbed his dishes from the table and set them in the sink before heading out into another room, Naruto listened to him hurry around upstairs and gave a satisfied smile, Sasuke didn't know they could still hear him? Oh! They! Blue eyes looked to the older Uchiha standing beside him the man looking back at him with a muted curiosity that Naruto knew he was only capable of spotting after years of dealing with Sasuke.

"Uzumaki, Naruto!" The blond greeted loudly as he thrust out his hand for a friendly shake, he could have sworn he heard Sasuke 'tch' from upstairs. Itachi looked at the boy's beaming face, what was under that mask he was wearing? That depth he had noticed earlier was difficult to spot and Itachi knew the only reason he was able to catch it was due to the years of dealing with his younger brother, he couldn't decide if the two of them were complete opposites or exactly the same. '_Sasuke.. What do you have with this boy?'_ Itachi shook Naruto's hand, the blonds hand had a few rough spots but the overall warmth it gave off was much more potent.

"Uchiha, Itachi." His voice was smooth as he slipped his hand away from the other, "You're a friend of Sasuke's?" Itachi allowed a delicate eyebrow to raise but just as the blond was about to answer the elders question Sasuke walked into the room and approached Naruto, stepping in between the blond and his red eyed brother efficiently cutting off any communication between the two. Itachi went back to stonewalling before he excused himself, Naruto was pouting what was Sasuke's problem? The two stared at each other for a moment or two and then the raven broke the silence.

"Weren't you saying something about being late?" There's that cold voice of his again but Naruto doesn't so much as flinch, his pout turns to a smile and then his smile turns to a look of sheer panic, his azure eyes darting around until they spot a clock and then the panic seem to intensify. "What?" Sasuke looked in the same direction and noticed the same thing that had nearly launched Naruto into a panic attack, "Fuck." The dark haired boy grabbed up his messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder, it was rare to hear Sasuke swear, it just seemed to be one of the many perks of being as close to him as Naruto, you get to see that even the perfect Greek god of an ice prince is still human, at least partly. There was no way they would get to school in time even if they ran the entire way, that means..

"Come on, Dobe." Sasuke walked off, shortly after the panicky blond followed suit. Swiping up something off the side table beside the door the raven walked outside, Naruto continued to follow but what was Sasuke thinking?! He saw the clock and even if they were both pretty damn amazing when it came to track, Naruto's saving grace had always been gym and the princess wasn't too bad either.

"Teme! We wont-" However Naruto's voice froze dead in it's tracks as he watched Sasuke climb into the sleek black car that probably cost more than five years rent on Naruto's crappy apartment, the blond smiled like an idiot and immediately scrambled over to the passengers side, opening the door and then hopping in with a new found vigor as he gently shut his door and Sasuke started up the vehicle. "Woohoo, Sasuke! Show me what this baby can do!" Black eyes moved over to the blond and it took a moment of dead silence for Naruto to figure out why they weren't moving, he hadn't put on his seatbelt. Clicking his seatbelt on he barely caught the smirk on Sasuke's face out of the corner of his eye.

"You better believe I will, Dobe." And with that, the two teens peeled out of the driveway, neither of them noticing that Itachi had been watching them from an upstairs window since they got out the front door.

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Give me reviews and get another chapter, got it?

Ja ne!


	2. Chapter 2

That was the single most horrifyingly exhilarating experience in the entirety of Naruto's life, you hear all of the hype about these million dollar cars really being able to haul ass with amazing maneuverability and unsurpassed braking but all of those things completely and totally unnecessary seeing as most rich people would never push something so expensive to it's actual potential, it's never anything you see put into practice until your stuck in the passengers seat of your best friends car on the way to school, the sword dangling above their head that caused the raven to be in such a rush? Why, school of course. There were times during that short drive where Naruto should have been scared beyond belief, almost hitting pedestrians, giving the shocks some brutal testing by occasionally pulling onto an empty, well mostly empty but all of the people managed to move and avoid getting mowed down so they might as well have been empty, and zero to seventy? That was the understatement of the year! Naruto could have swore the second Sasuke put his foot on the peddle that the car was going at a staggering one hundred and twenty miles per hour. There were a few close calls along the way and the second they both got out of the car the Uchiha possessed his usual stoic demeanor while Naruto was pumped full of adrenaline and immediately began informing Sasuke of all of the things they had done wrong, just like an excited little kid after their first ever car ride.

"You almost ran through the gate! I didn't think it was going to open in time!"

"Hn."

"Then that little girl and her dog on the sidewalk! I thought we were going to go down for vehicular manslaughter!"

"Big words, Uzumaki."

"Oh man," Naruto's body seemed to relax and he ceased his animated jumping around, looking at the raven with sparkling blue eyes, Sasuke Uchiha was definitely the best at giving his one friend very memorable firsts. "I didn't know a teme like you would be capable of driving like that!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at that comment but it didn't deter Naruto from continuing on, then again did it ever? The blond seemed to be the one person who could go completely unaffected by the signature Uchiha glare and it was weird but Sasuke didn't really mind. "Neh, neh, Teme!" The blue eyed teen hopped over to the stationary Sasuke, ignoring the poisoned look and flinging an arm around the others shoulders leaning in rather close and smiling like a complete loon. One could only imagine how the scene would look for someone who wasn't familiar with the way the two boys functioned, a friendly blond boy being so physically affectionate with a slightly disturbed looking teen who appeared to be attempting to melt the others face off with sheer will power. "Can I drive your car sometime?" The glare softened and Naruto's hopes sky rocketed.

"No." Ouch, one cold syllable from the ice prince and all hopes are shot to dust! Well maybe that would be the case if the Uchiha wasn't dealing with someone as stubborn as himself, instead of just accepting the fact that the he wasn't allowed behind the wheel of the black speed machine Naruto had to go above and beyond in his attempt to get his way and persist, and persist, he was so engrossed in trying to talk his friend into letting him borrow his car, after all it wouldn't be so bad because the driving instructor for Naruto's driving test woke up from his coma just fine only a week after it happened, that he didn't notice the dark haired teen had dragged him to their first period class using his blond cling-on as fangirl repellent the entire way. When Naruto finally noticed the change in scenery he pulled his arm off of the other and took his seat, the Uchiha sitting in the chair right beside him, the two then proceeded to wait for their habitually tardy teacher. Now you may be wondering why the rushed if their first period teacher was always late and the answer is quite simple, the one day you show up late is the on day Mr. Kakashi will arrive early.

"Please, Teme, just let me drive it once!" Naruto pleaded, this time pulling out all of the stops and going into full blown puppy dog pout mode, large blue eyes looking with such sincere and pure desire that they were capable of bringing the toughest tough ass to their knees and make them bend over backwards for the beautiful blond boy, Sasuke however was always completely unmoved, perhaps that was why Naruto always called him a bastard. "I'll be really careful, I promise!" Well, maybe Sasuke could have some fun with this. Black eyes moved from the front of the class to the teen in the desk beside him and he blinked once.

"You promise?" Naruto only nodded furiously in response, if he opened his mouth he was likely to scream at how close he was to not only driving a car but a incredibly kick ass car, if there was anything Naruto wanted to do before he graduated it was take a joyride in someone else's vehicle. Sasuke blinked and looked as though he were giving it some actual thought before shaking his head and directing his attention back to the front of the room with a small 'tch' and while that was clearly a noise that shrieked 'you've got to be kidding me I wouldn't let you drive my car if you had the cleanest driving record in the world.' The blond only registered that it wasn't the flat out no he had received earlier and that meant the bastard could perhaps be swayed.

"You just wait, Teme, I'll drive your car one day and then I'll be the coolest kid in school!" Impossible, there was no way Naruto would ever be popular or cool and because of that fact the blond's previous comment caused Sasuke's insides to sink. Naruto was an amazing person whether anyone else would acknowledge it or not, he was the one thing everyone in the school had an identical opinion on, they all thought Naruto was a piece of filth and they hated him as harshly as only high school students were capable of hating, but even with all of that going against him he still had his optimism and that ridiculous smile that on occasion looked as though it were threatening to tear his face in half. His ability to smile in the face of adversity, the mask firmly attached to his handsome face that hid all of the stress and despair, looking at Naruto you would never be able to fathom the number of times he had insisted on hiding his tears from even his best friend, the burdens he insisted on shouldering all on his own despite the fact that he had someone who was willing to stand beside him and help him bare the weight. Sasuke sometimes wondered if his own inner turmoil was as obvious to the blond, if perhaps for every time Sasuke had such thoughts there had been a time where Naruto found himself wondering the same thing about him.

The two were opposites in almost every sense of the word on the surface but beneath what they allowed others to see of them they were more similar than even they could imagine. Both bore substantial stress when it came to socializing, while Naruto was constantly hated and tormented, Sasuke was always treated with utmost affection, even the people who hated the Uchiha's guts put up an adoring facade whenever he entered the room and it made Sasuke feel sick. Occasionally Naruto's habit of shouldering things by himself would really get to Sasuke and he betrayed the unspoken confidence of friendship and did what he had done ever since he was a wee little child, he would run to his aniki and that would always remind the raven that while he always had someone to turn to while Naruto was completely alone in this world.. Black eyes slid back to the blond who was currently distracted with trying to finish up last nights homework, Sasuke's pride may have kept him from admitting it aloud but Naruto had a much harder life than he did, life threw so many more trials at the blue eyed boy and still Naruto lived from the day to day without turning to a single person for help or even comfort whereas Sasuke, who went through much less horrific days, would most likely not be here today if it wasn't for his aniki always being around to listen to his problem. Why couldn't Naruto turn to Sasuke? Why couldn't Sasuke be his aniki? Did Naruto not trust him?

It was a funny thought, the raven being the older brother of the two, because when it came to size Sasuke may have been an inch taller but his body was much thinner than that of the blond haired ramen lover. No, Naruto was nowhere near being fat or even chubby and if anyone in the school cared about him even a little they would no doubt find themselves wondering how he managed to stay so fit off of a diet consisting purely of the instant make ramen he seemed to adore so much. Speaking of the blond he had finished the few questions he had been working on and when his mind was no longer busying itself on trying to finish the paper before Kakashi walked through the door he felt another's eyes on him and without even looking up he managed to figure out that it was Sasuke. How did he know? Simple, Sasuke was the only person in the world to date that didn't make Naruto's skin crawl with a single hate filled glance. He chose to ignore it though, the black haired boy would no doubt be embarrassed if he found out that his current observation project knew he was watching him.

"Done!" Naruto declared loudly, ignoring the fact that his outburst brought some unwanted glares, he then proudly gave his paper a quick peck and slammed it down on Sasuke's desk, looking at his stoic friend with the pride of a first time father. "See, Teme, I'm just as smart as you, I finished my homework too!" Sasuke blinked cooly and then turned his attention to the paper that had been plopped down on his desk and gave it a quick once over.

"Half of this doesn't even make sense." Sasuke stated flatly, did Naruto even look at the questions before he attempted to answer them or did he just happen to write whatever was on his mind at the time? Whatever the case may be the two now had the attention of the entire class, where in the hell was their teacher?!

"Maybe it only makes sense to smart people, ever thought about that, Teme?"

"This homework isn't even from this year, Dobe." Ah, Naruto, how do you even describe someone that can honestly pull off half of the things he did? Sasuke didn't even notice the rest of the classes laughter until he was brought back to the real world by a voice that one would expect to hear upon entering the gates of hell.

"Naruto, you're never going to even be able to compare to Sasuke-kun, stupid losers like you should never even be acknowledge by the perfection that is Uchiha, Sasuke-kun!!"

Haruno, Sakura. Sakura sat a few rows away from the raven she held in such high esteem, she used to sit right behind him but after she snipped off a piece of his hair she was moved to a safe distance away, and was well known as the president of the Sasuke fan club, coincidentally enough she was also the ring leader when it came to the student rallying together to attempt to torture the blond out of their school. Strange thing was Naruto had a crush on the girl like you wouldn't be able to believe, he had since they met in elementary school, that crush the blue eyed boy had on the pink haired bitch was the only thing that kept Sasuke from abusing his powers and getting a restraining order against the five-head once and for all.

"But Sakura-chan!" Naruto wailed but to no prevail, the pinkette's retort was cut short when their teacher finally arrived.

Kakashi was a strange man, half of his face always hidden beneath a thick black scarf that he wore even in the hottest weather, his hair was gray despite how young everyone assumed he was and it stuck up on end and slightly to the side in a hair do that was enough to rival the strangeness and unconventionality of Sasuke Uchiha's chicken but hair. His mouth wasn't the only thing he kept hidden, his left eye was hidden beneath a pristine white medical grade eye patch that never failed to get the incoming students curious each and every year.

"You're late!" The way those two spoke in sync terrified Sasuke sometimes, perhaps Naruto did it on purpose as a way of displaying his affection? Sasuke would never understand how Naruto could claim to love something so absolutely grating.

"Well, class, you see I was on my way to school and I came across a turtle that was being bullied-"

"Liar!" There they go again, Sasuke merely 'tched' and shook his head disapprovingly.

After the short argument with the perverted teacher that followed Naruto ended up with his face planted firmly on his desk compliments of a book thrown from behind him by Ino, it was only then that he realized there was a paper on his desk that he didn't recognize as his own. Naruto picked up his head and peeled the paper from where it had stuck on his forehead, looking at it curiously he noticed it was last nights homework with each question answered perfectly but in a scratchy handwriting that somewhat resembled his own. Upon looking at the upper right hand corner Naruto snickered to himself at what he saw, it was his name 'Naruto Uzumaki'. Naruto looked over to who he knew was responsible and smiled gratefully, the perfectionist Uchiha who just so happened to have some of the crappiest handwriting in the entire class which made it all the more believable that the completed paper could belong to the sloppy misfit Uzumaki. Sasuke simply nodded in response to the smile and when Kakashi came around to pick up the homework the man looked confused for a moment, after all Sasuke was the type of student with perfect attendance and perfect homework scores so the thought of the raven just not doing an assignment was baffling to anyone who knew he possessed the surname 'Uchiha.'

"No homework today, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

It didn't take long for Kakashi to figure it out though, when he moved on to Naruto and the blond proudly handed over a perfect, albeit sloppy, paper it was fairly obvious to someone as observant as himself that Sasuke had actually done something kind and saved Naruto from getting yet another goose egg on his homework grade.

"Neh, Teme," Naruto poked at the bastard. "I did my homework and you didn't!" the ebony haired boy looked over and saw it, that ridiculous face tearing smile and while Sasuke would rather Uzumaki not make a scene it was pretty much impossible for the black haired boy to remain mad at the blond so Sasuke just grunted in response and looked off to the opposite wall, diverting his attention from what he knew was going to be coming. "Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! I bet you I got a perfect score and that Teme got a zero!" Green eyes looked over to Naruto, a look of disgust and disbelief on the pinkette's uglier than usual face, it was obvious she had been too busy talking to her girlfriends to notice the fact that Sasuke didn't even turn in a paper.

"How dare you, Uzumaki?! Sasuke-kun would never get a zero!"

"Yeah, the day Sasuke-kun gets a zero on his homework is the day you get a date with Billboard brow!" Ino butted her way into the conversation and succeeded in giving Naruto a wonderful idea, that smile on his face? If it got any bigger the universe would be sucked into it.

"Sakura-chan, how about if Sasuke gets a zero you go out on a date with me!"

"And if you're wrong?" She inquired with a thin raised brow. Naruto thought about it for a moment, he needed to barter up something good or he knew Sakura would never go for it, hm.. What did Sakura-chan want more than anything? Hearing something move beside him blue eyes instinctively moved towards the sound and got his second great idea of the day, he could put up Sasuke! After all if Sasuke didn't already know he was getting a zero his pride might not allow him to back down from the challenge and for this to work the Teme had to act as though he had actually turned in a paper.

"You can go out on a date with Sasuke-teme!" The whole entire room fell completely still, blue eyes shifted from Sakura to his dark haired friend and looked at the other practically begging him to go along with it, after all Sasuke knew Naruto had liked Sakura for forever and if he got the opportunity to make the dobe happy, surely he would take it.. right? There was a moment of awkward silence that followed, the two male teens looking at one another, Naruto mentally offering up his arm while Sasuke remained his usual stoic self, the rest of the class looking on in anticipation.

Sakura's cheeks turned a deep red and she looked as though she were about to pull a Hinata and faint right on the spot, "S-s-sasuke-kun, w-would you really?" She managed to stutter out. Sasuke was so sick of having that effect on women, each and every one of them were so truly and madly in love with the raven that all confidence went out the window and they acted like the 'cute' girls on tv blushing and stuttering, when would they realize it wasn't cute at all? In fact it was one of the most annoying things females did. Onyx eyes looked at Naruto's hopeful face and then to the blushing Sakura, positively torn and he couldn't understand why.

"Sure."

That was when Sakura fainted and the whole class, which was made up mostly of Sasuke fangirls, exploded into chaos only to calm down when the bell resonated in the room and they all practically ran out the door to go inform everyone they knew of the bet that had just been made. The rest of the day was going to be absolute madness.

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Allow me to remind you this is NOT NaruSaku, I HATE that pairing with a bloody passion!

I updated without getting any reviews this time, but I'm not posting chapter three until I get some sort of feedback so get to it people!


	3. Chapter 3

So, absolute madness? Ha! That was an understatement, such an understatement that not even the genius Sasuke Uchiha could figure a word that could correctly sum up just how crazy it really was, why in the hell did he have to offer himself on a silver platter to one of his most annoying fangirls? Even if there wasn't a single percent of a chance that the dark haired boy would have to go out with the nausea inducing pinkette his entire fan club was not in one that little fact, nor was the rest of the school's population. As a result of their ignorance they all believed the horrific story the fan club had concocted about how Sasuke must really be in love with Sakura and he had just been too shy to ever get up the courage to ask the girl out so when Uzumaki provided him with the opportunity he finally got his chance and he took it.

The boy beside him had been bouncing around in his usual idiotic fashion since he and Sakura had made that ridiculous bet, you know how sometimes you think you'd be willing to do anything for a good friend and then when you finally get the chance to do them a favor you begin to resent the crap out of it not moments after agreeing to help? He didn't want anything to do with this whole set up from the very get go, seeing Naruto so happy about finally going to have a date with his dream girl and having to put up with more than the usual brotherly insults from the blond all day about how the great Uchiha was going to get a zero, certainly didn't aid in making Sasuke any more gun ho about choosing to get involved.

Yeah, Naruto had been a little more animated than usual, ok he was so fidgety and loud that you'd think he was on some sort of very pricey designer drugs, but if you asked the blond about his behaviour he'd probably just playfully punch you in the arm and belt some insane exclamation that put Mr. Gai's youthful speeches to shame. Sound strange? Well anyone would probably agree if they hadn't witnessed it during their fourth period math class, the teacher had come up with a new seating chart, which earned quite a few groans from the students, and Naruto was across the room from his raven haired companion and currently seated between the most dysfunctional family members since the Uchiha's.

The Hyuugas were a particularly frightening bunch, pitch black hair and completely white eyes, that Naruto swore up and down they could use to see through walls, although if one only knew Hinata they may be lead to think the only reason the Hyuuga name induces so many flinches is their creepy appearance, after all Hinata was far from frightening with her constant blushing and stuttering she seemed like a greater danger to herself than the people around her, but upon meeting Neji it's made very obvious why no one messed with the Hyuuga family.

It was during a long boring lecture from the teacher that Naruto found himself to riddled with anticipation to pay attention to class and so his instincts led him to strike up conversation with the male sitting on his left, that had always been where Sasuke sat, but when glittering blue eyes looked to the left Naruto felt a slight pang in his stomach when the stoic bastard sitting beside him wasn't the stoic bastard he had become so attached to.

Oh well, Naruto ignored the slight discomfort of disappointment in his gut, writing it off as hunger, and went for the kill as only the blond Uzumaki was capable of doing. Neji, as stated before, was a stoic bastard who practically oozed superiority and had a crazy obsession with destiny and fate that made Uzumaki's love of ramen look down right pitiful, although Neji lacked the vigor the blond possessed he seemed to have a sort of dormant insanity that kept him neck in neck with Naruto in the race for school freak. That didn't mean the two talked, in fact the Hyuuga absolutely positively loathed the blue eyed teen so imagine his displeasure when he felt eyes on him, looked up, and was greeted by the loud mouthed freak's face a mere inch away from his.

Everyone disliked Naruto, everyone cringed when they were forced to be in his presence, and everyone laughed at how huge of a failure he was in comparison to the school star Uchiha Sasuke, well that was everyone aside from the Uchiha himself, so Neji couldn't be considered an ass for hating someone he didn't even know, it was like a school tradition and while Sasuke was popular enough to get away with it the Hyuuga knew no one else in the school would ever be capable of staying clean while playing with the socially outcasted pig. So white eyes narrowed and Neji moved to slide his chair away but was caught by a tan hand flopping down and giving his shoulder a tight friendly squeeze, the idiot who the hand belonged to Neji noted was smiling like a madman and if it weren't for his insanely subdued demeanor Neji probably would have run out of the class like a little girl.

"I bet you're honored to be sitting next to the amazing Uzumaki, I'll be the first person ever to kick Sasuke-teme's pedestal out from under his feet!" Naruto exclaimed loudly enough to cause the whole class to stop dead in it's tracks and turn to investigate exactly what was going on.

"You wont." Usually the sound of a classroom would be enough to completely drown out the Hyuuga's smooth quiet voice but in such a still silence his words could be received loud and clear. Naruto's eyes widened at this statement and his face screwed itself up in frustration before turning into a pathetically annoyed pout, the blond gave Neji a small push before offering up anything verbal.

"Says who?"

"Says fate."

Naruto's face screwed itself up again, why was this guy so hard to shake up? It was like having another Sasuke-teme around! Not only that but he was doing that fate thing again, come on even Naruto had days where he went without mentioning ramen, that should mean shutting up about something so frivolous as fate and destiny should be a snap! Come on, fate? Destiny? That stuff was nothing compared to ramen!

Sasuke watched the interaction from his seat the same as the rest of the class, normally the inky haired teen would hold no interest in the trivial interactions of his fellow classmates but this one just so happened to involve the dobe so he found it more interesting than doing the work everyone else had already forgotten about. He'd witnessed the push and was thankful when Neji didn't push him back, knowing that it would have flicked a switch Naruto's brain that brought out his competitive side, and when he heared the Hyuuga mention fate he looked to the blond's face and it was just as he predicated, Naruto was probably comparing the concept of fate to ramen again.

How did Sasuke know this? Well, the blue eyed teen had once gone on a rant about just that the last time Neji mentioned fate and Naruto's thoughts are pretty much a broken record. Onyx eyes looked on curiously as it appeared Naruto was going to say something back.

"What do you mean 'says fate'?!" Naruto was beginning to get red in the face.

"It is in your fate to always chase after Uchiha, therefor there's no way you could ever surpass him."

"Well I bet you're wrong, I _will_ surpass that teme and then _you'll_ owe me a bowl of ramen!"

"And what if I'm right? Are you going to offer me a date with Uchiha as well?" The Hyuuga remained as solemn as ever and Naruto seemed to be at a loss for words, if the whole class had been positively silent before the were now quiet enough that it was a surprise you couldn't hear the atoms vibrating in the solid surfaces yet.

First Sakura and now ramen?! This was the best day ever!! Naruto's face nearly split in a smile as his blue eyes looked knowingly over to the raven for the green light, after all there was no chance that he would have to do anything so there should be no reason why he shouldn't agree to it this time as well. Sure, Neji was a boy but Sasuke shouldn't be so selfish and care about what people think his orientation is, this was for a bowl of ramen for gods sake the perfect end to a long day at school!

Now the classes attention was resting on the Uchiha, who for a moment almost actually looked shocked but his stoic mask quickly covered up anything and everything that could show he was even in the least bit human. "No." Was it possible for the class to get any quieter? Sasuke Uchiha had just refused to compete with his life long rival?! More amazingly Sasuke had just said no to Naruto and it wasn't just any sort of no, it was the no Sasuke reserved for his most annoying fangirls, glare and all.

Naruto's heart felt like it stopped, the smile completely vanished from his face and after years of watching the teme shoot down girls Naruto finally knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end. Sure, Naruto didn't like Sasuke that way and it wasn't as though he had just bore his heart and asked the raven out but all the same those cold eyes and that flat tone was enough to completely destroy the blond's good mood and possibly any future good moods as well. People have said no to Naruto his entire life and just when he thought he could bare it his best friend goes and proves him wrong.

The silence in the room was broken by the bell and all of the teens were shaken out of their stupified stupor and hurried out of the room where the air had become so suffocating with a single word, Sasuke was one of the first out of the room making it impossible for Naruto to catch up to him and seeing as the two didn't have any more classes together for the rest of the day the sour note would be held until lunch and maybe even longer if track star Uchiha kept displaying his power walking skills, seriously he moved faster like that then over half of the track team sprinting!

Despite the fact Naruto knew his effort would be fruitless he stood up as quickly as he could and ran out the door, weaving through any loitering students near the threshold before his quick falling footsteps disappeared into the hall. Neji stayed in his seat for a moment more, looking at the empty seat to his right and then to the now barren doorway with his snowy white eyes.

"It's just as fate has decided." He said aloud to himself before packing up his things and exiting the room for his next class.

* * *

Sorry the chapter took so long, I should be getting back to updating roughly once a day or so soon seeing as I just started school and need some time to get back into the swing of things. Also did I do a good job at breaking up the paragraphs? It was difficult but I really did try.

So, you give me reviews and I'll give you another chapter.

**Ja ne.**


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto hadn't found the inky haired bastard the entire lunch period and searching for him had not only made the boy late to his class but he didn't have time to eat anything either. Naruto highly doubted any student enjoyed walking into a class late, the second the door opens everything stops, the teacher quits teaching and the students quit pretending to learn as every body in the room turns to look at whomever disturbed the sanctity of their class time or perhaps even a day dream that was just getting good, and it really didn't help that pretty much everyone in that room wanted him dead in a ditch on the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere.

Normally the blond would just smile and apologize to the everyone before casually walking over to his desk and sitting down, this time however there was too much on the boys mind that kept him from grinning and giving his usual 'sorry I'm late, but at least I showed up right?' his brilliant azure eyes seemed to be lost in less cheerful thoughts and all of the excitement from getting a guaranteed date with his dream girl had slipped through his fingers, vanishing from him completely. How was he supposed to think about Sakura when his mind was ridden with thoughts of his best friend?

After having made his way to his seat the curiosity in the room died down and eventually the teacher and the students went back to what they were doing before Naruto made his entrance, however the occasional glance would be thrown his way no doubt because of the expression that adorned his usually bright and cheery face, on the blond's face was a strange look that seemed to be a mix between sorrow and trying to solve a really really hard trigonometry question.

It really shouldn't bother him, after all Naruto knew Sasuke could be slightly too intense at times and this wasn't the first time the raven had 'run away' from his blond haired companion, but it was the first time Sasuke had ever looked at him like _that_, it was the first time in their entire friendship that Sasuke had spoken to Naruto like _that_, what had he done to make the other so upset with him? Naruto ran through the days happenings in his head, trying to figure out if he had done anything unintentionally to make Sasuke act that way towards him.

There was that weird thing with Itachi, but Sasuke was behaving normally shortly afterwards so it couldn't have been that...

The blond groaned and rest his head on his desk, rolling it back and forth every so often as he continued to rake every piece of his short term memory he could get a hold of.

After they had arrived at school he had/i begged Sasuke to drive his car... Again Naruto dismissed the thought for the same reason he dismissed his first, the raven had seemed completely normal afterwards, in fact he even put Naruto's name on his own homework, you wouldn't do that for someone you were mad at would you?

What else could there have been? The blond thought harder than he ever had in his entire life and he _still_ couldn't come up with any logical explanations for the Uchiha's sudden change in personality, maybe it _was_ because Neji was a boy? But Naruto didn't think the black eyed boy cared about what people thought about what team he was playing for, and even if he did if given the choice he was sure that Sasuke would choose to have a full blown make-out session with Neji in front of the entire class over actually going on a date with Sakura any day. His stomach suddenly felt uncomfortable again, damn was he ever glad the end of the day was only about twenty minutes away, he knew it was a good idea to only take six periods!

Naruto's celebration however was cut short when he felt a harsh jab to his side, the blond shot up like a rogue jack in the box and blue eyes immediately shot over to whoever was responsible but the student he was looking at just shrugged and motioned under the desk for Naruto to take a neatly folded piece of paper, who in the world would write Naruto Uzumaki a note without a horrible slur on it? Curiosity got the better of him and he took the paper and quickly turned back to the front of the class feigning paying attention as he unfolded the paper and lay it out flat on his desk.

First thing he noticed, the note was written in a bright pink ink, the second thing he noticed? The senders name at the bottom, "Sakura." The name came out in a single amazed breath. Only after he overcame his initial shock did Naruto find the courage to actually read the letter, what it was a confession?! His heart skipped a beat and eager azure eyes immediately set to work on reading the bubble gum pink scrawl.

_'Fox freak, I was going to get Sasuke on my own eventually, so don't go thinking you deserve any sort of gratitude for handing him to me on a silver platter, I was planning on asking him out after school anyway and I'm sure he would have said yes, just like he did in class. -Sakura.'_

"Sure doesn't mean yes." Naruto grumbled to himself, why was everyone making it out to look like Sasuke had thrown himself at her?! Sasuke didn't like her, HE did! He was the one that knew everything about her, Sasuke-teme probably wouldn't even be able to remember her name if it weren't for her beautiful cherry blossom coloured hair! How in the world could Sasuke not like a girl as wonderful as Sakura? She was willing to do anything for the teme and he didn't even spare her a passing glance!

Then the bell rang, the teacher recited their homework assignment though everyone, including Naruto, completely ignored it, so the blond crumpled up the note in his hand and jabbed it into a pants pocket before grabbing up his bag and leaving the classroom glad he could finally go home... Wait, home? If it was the end of his day it was the end of Sasuke's day as well! Ha! Naruto knew it was worth the effort to convince mister goody two shoes Teme to only take six periods!

Sadly though when Naruto looked for the black car from that morning in the school parking lot it was nowhere in sight, oh well Naruto was used to walking home and it wasn't like it was raining or anything. Ironically enough just as Naruto began giving his silent thanks, a raindrop hit the top of his blond locks and all of it's friends began following shortly after.

* * *

If anyone had thought Sasuke's driving on the way to school was absolutely ridiculous they should have seen him on the way home, hell he probably made it inside his large mansion before the school bell even finished ringing. Upon entering his home he tossed his bag on the couch in the well decorated and spotless living room, the house was always so clean that those who had seen witnessed it often joked about how it was clean enough to be an operation room and more frequently than not they gasped when they heard that the Uchiha's hadn't employed any maids.

Itachi had always been the one to do the cleaning, he was practically compulsive about keeping everything spic and span which left Sasuke convinced his brother had some sort of crazy god complex and just enjoyed having absolute control over his surroundings, oh well, Sasuke obviously didn't mind crazy people considering his best friend was probably the most insane person he knew. At the thought of the blond, the raven frowned and started towards the music his brother always listened to when he was somewhere other than his room, why? Well he had to let his Outouto know where he was somehow.

_'There's a train leaving town, If you hurry up I think you just might make it,_

_Dammit I hope you make it._

_Conscience is a faint, unpleasant sound, You've worried enough, but here's your chance so take it,_

_Dammit I hope you take it._

_A heart attack is sleeping in your chest, waiting until the timing's best,_

_So make a move, while you're still breathing.'_

Eventually the noise lead Sasuke to the bathroom located in the completely bare master bedroom, a disturbing contrast to the rest of the well furnished home.

_'Say so long to innocence_

_From underneath the evidence_

_You taste like Heaven, but God knows you're built for sin.'_

Without so much as a knock Sasuke opened the door and stepped inside, stalking to the granite counter space beside the marble sink and hopping up onto it, sitting on the ledge as though it were some sort of daily routine to hang out in the bathroom while his elder brother bathed. Itachi seemed completely oblivious to his little brothers presence as he lay in the full tub, bubbles floating on the surface of the water cloaking his body beneath the white foam, his face was clearly visible though and it looked like he was sleeping.

Sasuke knew better though and hit the off button on the small portable boom box, this caused his brothers mysteriously red eyes to slowly open and then slide over to his younger sibling boredly. Itachi had become used to his brother's immature tendencies and already knew how this entire thing was going to play out but he did what any good older brother would do and despite already knowing the answer to his question he asked it anyway.

"Outouto, is something bothering you?" Here it comes.

"No, why?" Sasuke's voice had a defensive edge to it when he spoke, stubborn little boy.

"Just a feeling I suppose." He went to shut his eyes again but the younger Uchiha wouldn't let him have it.

"You shouldn't sleep in the bathtub."

"I wasn't going to sleep, Outouto. I was just going to rest my eyes."

"Fine."

With that the two fell back into silence, Itachi knew the ball was in his court but he felt like letting Sasuke stew a bit longer over it before he asked for a second time. He had to admit though, he was curious as to what was so important it couldn't wait, normally his little brother would wait for him to be done with his personal business before proceeding to follow the elder around like a lost little puppy. When Itachi was going to ask his brother what was really wrong he noticed a distant look in the ebony eyes, a look that Sasuke only got when he was lost in thought, he had the same look every year on that day.. Itachi mentally shook off the thought and closed his eyes once more, Sasuke would say something when he needed him and the younger's presence didn't bother him all that much so he didn't mind.

Since when was he nothing more than a betting chip? Not only that but... Was a date with a billboard brow and a bowl of ramen really all he was worth? Sasuke knew he shouldn't be taking it so hard, in the time he had known Naruto he had learned that there were two things higher up on his list of importance than Sasuke himself, those two things were Sakura and ramen. He knew that Naruto could become selfish without even realizing it when it came to either of those things, and everyone deserved to be a little selfish every once and a while but... Naruto knew didn't he? He must have figured it out somewhere along the line, right?

Surely he wasn't so blond as to not realize that when it came to Sasuke's list he was number one. It wasn't as though Sasuke had anything else to put up there, he didn't have any strange food obsession and he never had a crush on anyone so the position was Naruto's by default, the ebony eyed boy's aniki was a close second. Speaking of Itachi, he had reopened his eyes in order to check and make sure his brother hadn't passed out or something like that but when he found his outouto in the same state he had been in when he closed his eyes it seemed like a good idea to shake him out of it before it really begins to affect him.

"Sasuke," Itachi sat up in the bathtub and held out a nice clean hand to the raven on the counter, "Could you hand me my towel?" The towel in question was sitting right on the counter top beside the younger Uchiha so it wasn't an unreasonable request and Itachi was glad when it served it's purpose and drew Sasuke back from the realm of his thoughts into reality.

"Hn." Sasuke grabbed the cottony white towel and placed it in his brothers wet hand before hopping off from his perch, showing some respect and walking out of the rather large tiled room. Stopping in the doorway when he heard Itachi's voice again,

"Are you sure there's nothing bothering you?"

Sasuke paused for a moment before shaking his head, "No." Itachi opened his mouth to ask for specifics but was cut off when knocking could be heard at the front door.

* * *

Dun dun dun! Cliff hanger!! Ok, so it was my attempt at a cliff hanger but at least I tried, right? You know my whole motivation for this chapter was the mental image I had for that one scene with the brothers, I saw Itachi just chilling in the bathtub and Sasuke storming in, sitting on the counter, and then proceeding to pout like a five year old.

Also, the lyrics are from "Built for sin" by Framing Hanley that's where I got the idea for the stories title.

**Is it just me or does this chapter really seem poorly written?**


	5. Chapter 5

The usually tolerable walk seemed less so with the icy drops falling from the sky, bombarding the now considerably sopping blond mop that sat atop the sun kissed teens head as well as the rest of him. Of course Naruto was now effectively freezing, despite the fact he'd gotten used to frigid temperatures he always had a hard time dealing with the cold while he was wet, but that just proved to be more motivation to get to his destination quicker, after all Sasuke's house was closer than his at this point. As he walked he continued his thoughts from his earlier class, even if coming to any sort of definitive conclusion seemed to be eluding the blue eyed boy at all costs, if he was stuck walking out in the rain it would be a good idea to distract his mind from the fact that his lips were probably turning blue, right?

A few long, seriously drawn out, minutes later, Naruto was faced with the same black gate he had scaled just that morning and wondered if he would have to repeat the feat.. Letting out a defeated sigh the blond tossed his backpack over and attempted to get a good grip on the black iron bars, he made it about half the way up and then his footing and grip began to slip and, not wanting to fall on his ass, Naruto abandoned his task and hopped down only to land on the same side of the gate he had started on. Saphire eyes glanced hesitantly over to the silver box off to the side, the familiar numbers greated him along with the ever daunting button labled 'Main estate'. Certainly it wouldn't be a good idea to ring the Uchiha, if he did that Sasuke would most likely just ignore him the second he realised who it was, what in the hell was wrong with the raven anyway? It wasn't as though Naruto had done anything out of the usual recently, aside from aquiring a date with Sakura that is.. Sasuke didn't like her did he?

He shook his head and the thoughts vanished as well as a few raindrops from his hair that were sent flying in various directions, that was probably the stupidest thing to cross the ramen lovers mind, EVER. Seeing no other way to get in, well he could try risking a leg to scale the gate again but he'd rather not get the cops called on him for breaking and entering an entire community, the ever clever Uzumaki pushed a random button and waited ever so patiently for some sort of response, Naruto didn't know anyone else who lived in the gated area but most strangers couldn't bring themselves to say no to the bright little blond, even if they couldn't see him they could hear it in his voice, and as long as they didn't already know him they would almost always fold with little to know effort.

_"Hello?"_ Came the disembodied voice after a short period of silence. Naruto nearly yelled for joy but contained himself as he held down the button to speak to his could be savior.

"Hey, it's really coming down out here and I'm supposed to go to my friends house but he forgot to give me the pass-code, think you can give me a hand?" Naruto gave a hesitant chuckle as he removed his finger from the button to allow the other to respond, he figured none of these people were particularly close and they probably got forgetful company at their gate all of the time, complaining about how they washed their pants with the slip of paper inside and needed to be let in. The silence that followed was awkward and the blond began to wonder if he had been hung up on, reaching for the button again he would have touched it if it weren't for the reappearance of the voice on the other end.

_"Uzumaki?_" Naruto perked at the sound of his last name, it didn't sound like either Uchiha's and it sounded too young to be one of their parents.. Biting his lip he contemplated the right response, it had to be someone he knew and quite a few of the people he knew hated his guts so would revealing himself be a bad idea? _"So it is you." _Wait! Naruto hadn't even said anything! God damn it he had to talk to that duck butt friend of his, no matter how many people he had to ask a favor from! Pushing down the button again the blond took his turn to speak.

"Who is this?"

_"You rang me, Uzumaki."_ Emphasis was put on the 'me'.

"Just let me in!" Something about the voice was rubbing him the wrong way, stupid superiour tones. "Come on, the bastard is acting weird and I want to know why!" If this person knew him there was no chance in hell they didn't know Sasuke as well, they were practically attatched at the hip. There was another unexplained silence and Naruto wondered yet again if he had been hung up on, it wouldn't surprise him seeing as he probably pissed the other person off at this point. Just as Naruto was about to give up when the gate began to slide open, he hurried through and in his haste he completely missed the last thing the boy on the other side of the box said.

_"For someone who doesn't believe in fate, you follow your path closer than most._"

The two brothers exchanged glances, Itachi couldn't very well answer the door in just a towel, something about living in a prestigious gated community kept you from ever answering the door in anything less than your best clothes, and Sasuke had a personal vendetta against doors of any and all kinds. He was such a child, holding onto a fear from so long ago and refusing to do such a simple task as answering a door, normally Itachi would just force his brother to do it anyway but at the moment the younger raven seemed to be in no shape to confront his borderline irrational fears. The elder Uchiha sighed and wrapped the towel around his waist before walking over to the small box on the wall and pressing the button, holding it down to allow himself to speak.

"I'll be down in a moment." If it weren't for his older brother status Itachi would have been completely annoyed with the stubborn young boy, but the red eyes male just put his minor irritation aside and quickly pulled on some decent clothes before heading out of the master bedroom, Sasuke at his heel. Though both left the room only one set of footsteps were heard traveling down the steps, while Itachi descended Sasuke stood at the top watching everything anxiously as though it was from some sort of horror movie and he already knew exactly what was going to happen.

For the second time that dreary day Naruto had been met with the effeminate older Uchiha at the door to the large mansion, a thin brow raised at the blond who offered him a small smile of a greeting though the slightly curled lips straightened out though when determined sapphire followed skeptical ruby to the landing at the top of the steps. Both pairs of eyes met with lifeless onyx, all were still. Itachi, being the only one not involved, was of course the first to break the unseen restraining force as he looked back to Naruto, "Would you like to come in?"

Both younger boys were completely caught off guard.

Shortly after the question was answered, still in a state of slight shock, the blond nodded in response and stepped inside the large home as the elder stepped to the side in order to allow him in. Itachi silently observed as the soaking blond crossed the threshold from the cold pounding rain into the comfortably warm home where the Uchiha's spent most of their time, he could very well feel the masked death glare from his younger sibling but Itachi didn't so much as flinch as he shut the front door, his eyes flicked over to Sasuke, who oddly enough was restraining himself, he had a good idea of what was going on at this point, even if he didn't know any of the details he knew his brother like the back of his hand and that was all he needed. "Why don't you grab Naruto a change of clothes for him to wear while we dry his?" Blue eyes widened, ebony eyes narrowed.

"Ok, Nii-san." It was obvious Sasuke didn't want to agree but saying no to Itachi when he used that tone was something he had learned the hard way never to do, if his brother wanted him to do something he would do it and if he didn't he would be forced to do it anyway or it would come back to bight him in the ass somehow, Itachi called these little ass munchings 'life lessons', which translates roughly to.. Well.. Life lessons. Sasuke turned on the top of the landing and disappeared down the hall, leaving Naruto at the complete mercy of the older Uchiha.

"Neh, Itachi?" Strange, Naruto hadn't struck Itachi as the type to make the first move.

"Hm?" Crimson eyes looked boredly at the blond who he observed looked slightly uncomfortable, Itachi would have attributed to the clothes if it weren't for the glint of determination in the blond's bright blue eyes. _'Are you responsible for Sasuke's mood, Uzumaki?'_

"Nevermind." A sincere smile appeared on the blond's expression, Itachi watched as the whisker like lines scrunched on the young teens sunkissed face, surely enough the smile did look genuine but red eyes scrutinized every little detail, finding the most perpetuating evidence in the equally intense blue eyes. Itachi was by no means a stupid man, he could read every lie, he could see things that people couldn't with those wonderfully crimson eyes at his disposal, the boy was lying but his intentions.. They were pure, as pure as he knew those saphire eyes had once been.

Silence once again dominated, Naruto felt slightly uncomfortable but the uneasiness began to subside as the elder seemed to be looking off somewhere else. He didn't need any answers from Itachi, Sasuke trusted the blond as a friend and Naruto felt it would be wrong to approach someone else in regards to the teme's behaviour, even if the raven probably didn't appreciate Naruto trying to pry things out of him he was sure he would be happier with that than Naruto getting his information from another source. He'd been so lost in thought he wasn't able to see his imending doom.

_FWOP!_

The clothes were shoved right into the blond's face by the younger Uchiha, "Get changed, Dobe, you're dripping water everywhere." Sasuke growled, Naruto could have sworn he heard Itachi let out a small chuckle. "And you, _Nii-san_, can clean up after the loser, after all you let him in."

"He's your friend, Outouto."

"I didn't bring him in here."

"Naruto came all this way just to see you."

"The school isn't all that far away."

"He's soaking wet."

"Which is why, _you_, need to clean up his drippings!"

Naruto had long since taken the cloth away from his face and interestedly watched as the two brothers quarelled, Itachi was so eirily composed and Sasuke was probably now a step beneath shouting a four letter word and dragging his little butt out of there. While it certainly wasn't friendly on both sides the 'fighting' seemed not so serious, it probably happened a lot between siblings.

"Naruto why don't you go get changed? The bathroom is down the hall third door on your right."

The blond nodded and hurried off, not wanting to drip too much on the nice clean floor of the Uchiha's pristine home. _'They must have a million maids.'_ As he walked down the hall he heard the final piece of the conversation between the siblings, the first voice he recognized as Sasuke's, it was slightly more frazzled than the voice that followed, that voice was Itachi's.

"Do you really expect me to clean this up?"

"Yes."

Maybe Naruto should have just offered to clean it up himself? Oh well, what's done is done, no use crying over spilled milk. Walking into the large bathroom, though he figured the others were either just as large or even more so, blue eyes took in the clean beige room looking around until his sights landed on his own soaked appearance in the spotless glass mirror. His bright hair was an entire shade darker and rather than it's usual unruly appearance of sticking out everywhere it was all being weighed down by the rain water that had soaked it on his way over, his skin still retained it's beautiful tan, his eyes their usual dreamy blue.. He frowned when he reached the marks on his cheeks and promptly turned away from the mirror to pull off his soaked clothes and replace them with the dry ones the Uchiha's had offered him.

He stepped out of the room in a clean, albeit dark, outfit which consisted of a navy blue t-shirt, which actually fit him pretty comfortably, and a pair of black shorts that he could never picture Sasuke wearing, after all if these clothes fit Naruto well they would no doubt simply slip off the slim frame of the raven! Naruto snickered at the mental image, Sasuke was too much like a girl for his own good. Walking back down the familar hall with his wet clothes in hand he was greated by the older Uchiha who relieved him of the damp textiles and informed him that Sasuke was up in his room then gave the blond the usual vague directions and walked off, Naruto made sure to thank him before he was out of earshot and then the blond hurried up the steps and surprisingly enough found Sasuke's room rather easily.

A tan hand gripped the golden coloured knob and twisted, with a small push the door came open and immediately when Naruto spotted the pale onyx eyed boy on the bed the reason for his visited flooded over him, with a quick recovery the blond stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him as he entered, and went to go sit down to a slightly more broody looking Sasuke than usual. At the sight of his friend his annoyed 'what in the hell?! Why did you have to be such an ass?!' dissipated and a look of concern graced his angelic features, there was something wrong with Sasuke.

* * *

Another craptastic chapter! This one gave me so much trouble, I apologize for the low quality I'm sure the next chapter will be better! :coughcoughmaybecoughcough:

Bet you can't guess who Naruto rang! So, if you want a new chapter answer this little question **"If you could choose between, ramen or an ornery emo, which would you pick?"**.

**Ja ne!**


	6. Chapter 6

There was silence in the Uchiha's room that only broke with the soft sound of the well oiled door gently swinging open, Sasuke lay back on his bed and shut his eyes listening carefully as he heard the blond cross the threshold with a frustrated loud step that oddly enough softened into a hesitant gate as the blue eyed boy made his way towards the other, then Naruto took a seat on the bed as well. Ebony eyes stayed closed as though he hadn't noticed the dipping of the mattress beside him due to the added weight, the quiet that followed was one that Sasuke could only describe as a wave of anxiousness washing over a body standing in an air of calm, just being in the same room as someone he was so close to was calming but the anxiety clung to his skin and clothes like the salty water of the sea leaving his emotions lingering somewhere in between nervous and serene.

Surely Naruto didn't expect him to speak first, Sasuke had never been a talker to begin with and the blond should have known that very well by now. There was a reason he didn't speak, there were two types of people in the world in which they existed and those were the people who blindly listened to everything he said due to the fact he was a rumored prodigy and then there were those who stood there and pretended to be different from the first group, the Uchiha knew there was no difference though, he was no fool. These two groups of people made it so he felt every word that fell from his lips was laced with triviality despite how people insistanly hung on it, it was as though he were in an empty room talking to himself when in reality he was standing in the middle of a large crowd, they all listened but only to his words, never him.

Naruto though seemed to exist in a category all his own, Sasuke had realized this the first time they spoke and originally he had just written this anomaly off as stupidity but as their relationship continued to develop his explanation for this exception changed from the blond was an idiot to the boy was different than all the others. So here he was, he had the opportunity to speak in his empty room but his empty room was no longer empty, his room contained an attentive ear, a friend, this empty room had Naruto.

The silence began to take it's toll and onyx eyes opened, sliding over to the object of his current thoughts and curiosity wondering why the boy who he could never get to shut up seemed to have taken a vow of silence when he very well should have been mocking the Uchiha for having a feminine figure. Naruto looked so strange just then, the retina burning brightness of the blond's electric energy and eccentric wardrobe were now hidden behind what appeared to be a giant ink blotch dropped on a brilliant picture of a burning sun, the black t-shirt that perhaps clung a little too closely to Naruto's torso wasn't the nice break from painful glare he had been expecting, it seemed completely and utterly wrong. His tan sun kissed skin was paled by the sheer amount of midnight black, hair a shade darker from the water it still stubbornly retained, and finally Sasuke's gaze landed on the others eyes and a strange shiver went up his spine, brilliant sapphires darkened with a concerned, straight lipped, frown.

"Sasuke," It came out as a breath, Sasuke shut his eyes again knowing very well what was coming next. "Did I do something wrong?" Charcoal orbs emerged as stone white lids pulled back to greet the probing azure, the amount of turmoil and distress Naruto saw was almost enough to cause him to lose his lunch but luckily for the weak stomached blond the crippling emotions disappeared with a single blink of onyx eyes. Sasuke didn't answer, then again at this point he didn't have to, Naruto had read the raven's message loud and clear.

"No." The response was so unexpected that Naruto almost lost his balance, it was definitely a relief though seeing as he would have felt horrible if he'd caused his friend to go into such a foul mood. Just as he opened his mouth to verbalize his relief, and dig a little deeper to find out what was bothering the other, Sasuke cut him off. "You're always doing something wrong, Dobe, I've become immune to your stupidity at this point." Blue eyes glared at the poker faced male and a pale pink bottom lip jutted out, Sasuke was such an ass!

"Immune huh, Teme?" Naruto ignored the dead pan glare his suddenly playful expression had earned him, ignoring that bastard's glaring was easy if he didn't actually mean it.

"Yes, Dobe, do you need me to define it for you?" Sasuke replied flatly, a lively spark appeared in the sapphire blue and it was obvious to Naruto that the Uchiha, though annoyed as he always was, was at a lost when it came to drawing a conclusion as to what was going to happen next other than the blond was most likely going to proceed to dick around as he always did. Naruto didn't blame him though, despite the two being such good friends they could still always successfully kick the legs out from under one another and it always got a good laugh from the offender, or in Sasuke's case just smirk or chuckle.

"Do you really believe your 'immune'?" Naruto asked, a blond brow quirked inquisitively.

"If I didn't I wouldn't have said it." Black eyes narrowed, Sasuke's voice still sounded about as carbonated as soda left uncapped for three years and it took almost all the seriousness Naruto had in him at the moment to not laugh at the wonderfully poetic comparison he'd just come up with. The blond set aside his inward humor and turned his focus to the situation at hand, the teme couldn't really believe Naruto's stupidity had no affect on him and Naruto was going to do something to drive home that case and point. The air between the two was much lighter despite how there seemed to be a conflict in the works bubbling away in the blond's over active mind, even if Sasuke seemed annoyed as compared to his earlier distressed state they now seemed more like good friends jokingly jabbing at one another as they always did.

Naruto turned so he was sitting on his knees on the others mattress and then placed his hands on the slightly giving surface as well before taking a few crawling, steps?, and getting on top of Sasuke before the raven could even manage to prop himself up on an arm or do much along the lines of contemplating escape. Straddling the others waist and pinning the smaller male with his tan work worn hands on the soft sheets right above the brunette's shoulders the blond leaned in so his lips were right next to the ravens pale ear.

"Still think you're immune?" Naruto pushed himself back up and then spent a few minutes doing an entirely mental victory dance at the look of shock and slight disturb that set in on Sasuke's features. _'Immune my ass!'_ Naruto inwardly jeered, there wasn't a single person on the planet Naruto couldn't evoke something out of, he affected absolutely everyone and his stoic Uchiha friend was no exception.

Sasuke hadn't been sure what to expect when he saw the blond crawling towards him with such a mischevious look on his face, he'd run through a few possibilities but oddly enough none of those scenarios involved any sort of pinning so he couldn't really disguise his surprise when the other ended up on top of him. Ebony eyes blinked curiously as the sun kissed face of his friend got closer, and closer, then... Moved to the side? Sasuke shivered feeling warm breath hitting his ear, it wasn't an aroused shiver and despite the compromising position nothing inappropriate struck up in the Uchiha's mind. Well at least not _that_ particular Uchiha's mind because when Itachi opened the door to his little brother's room and saw the position the two were in, on his brother's bed, in their parent's house, in a well established community, inappropriateness was the first and only thing to cross his mind.

* * *

I'm actually pretty ashamed to post this chapter, it's the shortest one by far and well.. The quality is less than what I would expect from myself as a writer but I guess I hit a writing rut and this chapter is an attempt to aid me in getting out of this slumpy slump. Expect more regular updates from now on, hopefully I'll get back in my writing groove shortly.

**Ja ne!**


	7. Chapter 7

It was a miracle the two brothers were even related, beyond their similar appearances they seemed to have almost nothing in common, a prime example being how each interpreted the sentence 'Clean up the puddle your friend just dripped all over the floor' You see, Itachi would have gone and gotten a mop from the kitchen closet and cleaned the shallow body of water up properly. Sasuke however, was another story which Itachi noted when he passed by the spot the younger boy was supposed to take care of and saw a single loan dish rag from the kitchen drawer simply floating on the surface of the still puddle like a fat woman lounging on a blow up pool toy in the middle of a hotel forty pool.

Not wanting their company to slip and hurt themselves, Itachi made his way to the tastefully marbled kitchen and over to the closet in the connecting hallway. Opening the plain white door, pale fingers wrapped around the dull yellow neck of the mop and drew it back into his now closed fists before removing it from it's place in the well organized storage space and heading back to the greeting room to take care of what already should have been dealt with.

Plucking up the somehow still magically dry dishtowel he placed it in his back pocket so it stuck out ever so slightly and began his work. As he cleaned he allowed his mind to wander back to his younger brother's strange behaviour and the even stranger blond, it was a curious thing for Sasuke to leave in a seemingly pleasant mood with a friend and then return with his mood that somewhat reflected the weather of the day, without the boy he had left with. Of course it only got weirder when one took into consideration Naruto ended up walking to the Uchiha estates, surely Sasuke could have just given the other a ride and spared him the drenching rain but if the younger Uchiha had done that Itachi wouldn't have known so well what was causing his little brother's problems.

There was obviously something between Naruto and Sasuke however, Itachi found it unusually hard to describe. Sasuke had had friends before but none of the relationships seem to compare to what was currently going on between his brother and the blond, the only time Itachi could remember the younger sibling having such a seemingly close friend was when the raven was still in grade school and an older boy began to pal around with him, but when he found out about the Uchiha fortune he took advantage of the little boy's naivety and tried to take all of the money Sasuke had inherited after the accident. He was punished, sent to juvy by the best lawyers, but that did nothing to repair the damage it had done to the boy and ever since it seemed no matter how much Sasuke wanted to trust someone, he was purely incapable of even coming close to letting them in.

Now finished with his work Itachi took note of the stark silence that plagued the Uchiha household, while he was used to the quiet when it was just Sasuke and himself the older man didn't fail to notice the oddness in the volume level when a guest was present, and he decided it was his older brother duty to go check up on the two boys. If there were any sort of fight, which there was likely to be when sticking Sasuke in a room with someone who upset him, there would no doubt be yelling and seeing as Itachi heard none his mind began to lean towards thoughts of his brother ambushing the blond the second he walked into his room and perhaps strangling him to death or at the least until he passed out and was no longer able to speak.

Itachi headed up the stairs and then down the hall to his brother's room, when he reached the door he didn't bother knocking before turning the knob and pushing the wooden slab open to allow his curious crimson eyes in, what he saw was not his brother holding a pillow over the curious Naruto's face, what he saw was worse. He observed the two boys silently as they didn't seem to have noticed him yet and that allowed the elders more time to process all of the incoming information that was currently bombarding his usually so well composed mind. The two teens were on the bed, Naruto was on top of the thinner raven, straddling his waist and their faces seemed to be suspiciously close.

"Sasuke." Came the man's dangerously smooth voice from the threshold, it was the kind of voice a parent used when about to scold a child in front of very important guests, a tone that screamed 'when we get home you're so dead.' Ah, that had gotten their attention.

* * *

Sasuke was currently trying to make sense of the emotional shifts he had just undergone, the serious atmosphere the brooding boy had created with his feelings of worthlessness and triviality had dissipated like fleeting fog in the glowing light of the sun the second Naruto had initiated the childish volley over whether or not the raven was actually 'immune.' It was during that time, that small snippet of the blond's visit to the Uchiha's home, that it seemed as though there were nothing wrong, Sasuke forgot all about being in such a low position on the others priority list and it was then the ebony eyed boy found himself in a comfortable place. However, the more he thought about it the quicker the dark clouds came back to populate the momentarily blue sky.

The Uchiha had always figured himself to be a gracious loser, despite not ever having lost at anything before, that could take something like coming in third with some dignity, but he now realized why sore losers existed; Bronze would never be as good as gold. Of course he only realized this when the copper coloured medal was practically implanted in his flesh, it wasn't just a loss he could throw into a junk drawer and never think about again, shrug it off as a fluke and say something losers always say like 'I'll do better next time' because when it came to positions in someones heart there were no second chances.

Sasuke occupied the lowest level, ramen on the higher platform, and that stupid pink haired fanbitch even higher than the noodle dish. How could he lose to those things? Sure, you could say he had a bit of an ego but how could he not be awesome and have his own fan-club? People obsessed over him, all the girls wanted to go out with him and all of the boys made it their main goal in life to attempt to knock the Uchiha off his thrown, why was it that all these strangers focused all of their attention on him but the one person he actually bothered with treated him as something for getting what _he_ wants?!

Yes, he was being irrational. . . Ok, irrational is an understatement.

Naruto focused on the silent small frame beneath him, they had come so close to their distorted normalcy but it seemed that Sasuke had regressed back into the grieving mood he had been in when the blond first entered the room. The blond leaned in a bit closer until he could feel the others breath on his face, sapphire eyes searching the inky reflecting pools desperately for any sign aside from breathing that the other was still alive. What had crossed the ravens mind to make him stop so suddenly, To keep him from calling the blond a dobe or just pushing him off and grumbling about how he didn't allow idiots in his personal space?

He heard the door open but paid it no mind, after all the consequences of their current position were as far from Naruto's mind as flying fish sticks taking down the death star with bunny beams, after all there was a much more important matter at hand and Sasuke didn't seem to care, well at least Naruto assumed the other didn't care because he'd yet to do anything in response. However, a moment later when the presence in the threshold granted itself a voice chaos ultimately broke loose and the blond found himself glad he had such a high pain tolerance.

Sasuke hadn't heard the door open, he hadn't noticed the face drawing so near to his own, it was only when a familiar voice greeted his ears that he was ripped from his thoughts and his mind transplanted into the harsh dry soil of reality. Blue eyes were the first thing he noticed, then the warmth of the boy's breath, then that Naruto was currently on top of him and lastly what had been so crucial as to so roughly cause his mind to switch from neutral to fourth. The second he registered it was his brother he had heard at the door Sasuke pushed Naruto off of him, hard enough to send the blond off the edge of the large bed right onto the floor, and then shot up into a sitting position inwardly fearing for the worst.

* * *

"Will your friend be staying for dinner?" Itachi asked in a satiny voice, his frightening crimson eyes seemed to be locked on Naruto with a look that the blond couldn't make heads or tails of. Hey, why was he looking at him when he was talking to Sasuke anyways?! The blue eyed boy ignored the minor throbbing of his skull, where a lump was no doubt well on it's way to achieving mountainous proportions, in favor of closely observing the interaction between the two Uchihas, when the brothers spoke to one another they seemed to go off into their own little dimension where apparently no one else had the capability of hearing and or comprehending any word that left their mouths.

"No, I'll take him home when his clothes are done drying."

Wait.. Why didn't he just take Naruto home now and then bring his clothes with him to school the next day?

"Are you sure?" The older man's voice held it's usual tact, the kind you would expect to hear at a business meeting not at home.

"Yes, Itachi."

"So be it then, I'll bring up his clothes in a few minutes." Itachi spoke before exiting the room, his footsteps disappearing down the hall only to softly return as he traveled down the stairs.

The time passed by quickly, the older Uchiha had returned with the clothes Naruto had arrived in without so much as a word being exchanged between the two teens during his absence, the blond excused himself to go to the bathroom to change, and he gave the black outfit back to Sasuke before they left the large mansion-esque home. The ride home was a discomforting blur, all that really stood out in Naruto's memory was the song playing on the radio that was partially drowned out by the heavy rain drops making contact with the black stylish car's exterior. In fact, when Naruto left the car and entered his small disheveled apartment he found himself reciting the words under his breath to himself,

"I know a place where the sun's always shining,

with lovely flowers around everywhere.

Come take my hand , I'll show you I'll guide you.

I know this place it's deep down inside you.

I know a place where people not fighting,

with smiling faces around everywhere.

Come take my hand , I'll show you I'll guide you.

I know this place it's deep down inside you. "

Yeah, in case you couldn't guess Sasuke's radio had been acting up and refused to let the raven change the station, turn it off, or even lower the volume. You seriously didn't think he listened to that kind of music of his own accord, did you? Naruto yawned, his mind was still knee deep in stressing thoughts but he hadn't eaten yet so hunger over rode his system and he made his way to the kitchen to prepare himself some instant ramen. After the three minutes were up the blond slurped down his dinner and mentally rejoiced at how he would finally be able to have the real thing soon, sure instant was good and everything but the type from restaurants was absolutely positively heavenly.

* * *

Well, this chapter took me a grand total of three go's to finish seeing as my computer decided to eat the first two drafts. That's why it took so long to get up, I really lost the steam required to write somewhere in the middle of the second draft and I had to twist my own arm to get it done and saved the third time around.

The song used is "Come take my hand" by 2 brothers on the 4th floor.

**Review** and I might feel loved enough to update again.


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